25,000 people gather from across the globe every day for nine days of Navratri Festival at Bangalore? They create ripples of celebration and harmony as they participate in the Navratri Homa, at Art of Living International Center, Bangalore!

Today, Durga Ashtami (the eighth day of celebrations) saw a mighty crowd of around 50,000 people, who attended the VEDIC Style (the most ancient)of CHANDI HOMA in reverence to the victory of Goddess Mother over the buffalo demon (symbolizing our small-minds)...

...the air burst into ripples of sanskrit mantras...(we all know the potency of mantras recited in the world's oldest language)

...the positive vibrations it creates in our bodies and minds

...and in the power of the science of YAGNA which uplifts the mind to expand beyond its vices, energizes every cell of the body and stimulates the soul

....the bhajans (soulful songs) stretched the devotion and emptiness to peaks that can only be experienced, not expressed (i call them Art Of Living bhajans, because they have a style of their own...ancient chants sung with a modern and simple style...ancient roots and modern leaves :-))

...and of course, the grandeur was recreated on the very sacred land on which the International Ashram campus stands today (the land where millenniums ago, Mother Divine is known to have come and meditated in rest after killing the demon on Chamundi Hills)...

...the rites of the festival presided over by the Guru Of Joy Himself in all His love, simplicity and glory

...the rituals performed in such precision and scientifically that it would silence even the most rational minds who are forever entangled in root-cause-analyses of everything (perhaps this "small rational mind" stems from the wanting to control everything in existence....sad, isn't it)....

It all culminated into powerful vibrations and 25,000 peaceful people (and many more who witnessed it on television)....

....it was followed by a 10-course absolutely delicious feast...which i for the first time in my life, couldn't stretch beyond one helping (of all my food adventures)...why? because of the love with which every dish was prepared and served, even a morsel satiates the five sense and even the soul....

What happened in evening is my recollection of one of the most memorable moment of my life...a mighty satsang (sat= truth, sang= company) wherein every one present, from children as young as 3, to the youth, and the elderly as old as 80's, sang and danced in blissful intoxication like never before....personally i can feel the vibrations on my feet even hours after the satsang, as i share this blissful experience...oh btw, my feet are happily blistered now :-)

I slept only an hour last night (i had personal stuff to do), but now, i am wide awake and as fresh as a flower....what is this energy that keeps mankind evolving? what is this divinity that creates so many playful forms...sometimes Rama and sometimes Krishna, sometimes Buddha and sometimes Christ...and this time, His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar-- the simple, loving, enlightened master who livesknowledge, and simplifies lives for millions of beings on this planet-- war torn people, tsunami affected people, political leaders, the average college student, the villager next door, the scientists at NASA, the fashion and movie czars and czarina's, and for me!

We are fortunate to walk this planet alongside this phenomenon called His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who has shattered dividing concepts of religions, races, sexes and sexualities, and nationalities, and is unconditionally uniting people into VASUDHAEVA KUTUMBAKAM (One World Family!)...this is the time for mankind to wake up and step over their petty haves-have nots, likes-dislikes, comfort zones and gain the ability to live the knowledge first-hand from the Guru of Joy Himself!

What is this "knowledge"?

This knowledge is...

...to live in the present moment (which enables one to live fuller, all-dimensional, happy life, abundant with physical-emotional-mental health, personal and professional achievements, and the energy and inspiration to make a difference to our lives and to this ONLY living planet that we know of)...

...to MAKE LIFE AN EXPRESSION OF HAPPINESS, NOT A PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS!

...to retain the inherent innocence we were born with, and at the same time, to grow the intelligence that we gather with time.....innocence and intelligence hand-in-hand

Sounds difficult? Come try one of the ART OF LIVING WORKSHOPS...no matter where you stay, how rich or poor you may be, how able or challenged you may be...the workshops are conducted in over 156 countries!

........talking about Navratri again, it is unfair to relate such a deep, stirring, energizing experience in words, at best I can and shall post few glimpses caught on camera, in my upcoming post...

....but its an experience to be experienced by visiting and being a part of the ONE WORLD FAMILY that is rejuvenating hearts and sharpening minds of more than 50 million people on this planet TODAY!